Yes, thanks to Schoolhouse Rock, I'm generally aware of how the legislative process works. Just wanted to point out the the bill was not "promptly torpedoed" as suggested in oissubke's comment.posted by Otis at 6:39 AM on May 28, 2004

Ohio did not technically approve freedom for slaves until relatively recently.

No, really.

The bulk of Ohio represents the lowest common denominator Bubba (or, sadly, Bubba Wannabe) vote. Politicians keep their finger on the pulse of Ohio actively, just like New Hampshire (which gets more attention to its primary.)

A heinous bill in Ohio, even just a proposed bill, bears close watching, in my opinion.posted by Shane at 6:58 AM on May 28, 2004

Err, you started a metatalk thread to refute one argument from the original thread? Isn't that what the thread is for?posted by jacquilynne at 7:13 AM on May 28, 2004

Isn't that what the thread is for?

God, no! If he did that, only the people still interested in that thread would see the put-down. This way, we all get to be impressed.. I'm impressed. Aren't you impressed?posted by humuhumu at 7:17 AM on May 28, 2004

"Err, you started a metatalk thread to refute one argument from the original thread?"

Freebird has a good point. Perhaps Matt should include a special "fuck you, I was right" sidebar on the front page? That way, anyone who finds themselves proved correct or thinks of a witty thing to say as a comeback days after the thread has lost its original impetus would be able to say 'fuck you!' such that everyone would see it and be impressed.posted by humuhumu at 9:12 AM on May 28, 2004

Woody Allen's right: the English language's sweetest words aren't "I love you" -- they're "It's benign".
but in second place, I'd put "told you so: I was right and you were wrong"posted by matteo at 10:34 AM on May 28, 2004

Kind of a pyrrhic victory, though, ain't it?posted by vraxoin at 10:46 AM on May 28, 2004

If it allows just one more person to bask in the glory of my awesome Photoshop skillz, it was all worth it.posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:31 AM on May 28, 2004

I think this is a fine thing to post to metatalk. All too often someone questions the validity of someone's post.

Let me count the ways:

Dude, this was soo posted on slashdot like hours ago.

XFilter.

AgendaFilter.

You are making a mountain out of a molehill.

This is not the best of the web.

Or the generic "Why are you posting this?" (I got this from bluetrain recently for purely political reasons)

etc

Is it so hard to ignore threads you don't like or if you truly believe they are useless perhaps instead of trying to derail the thread you post here instead? That's not asking much.

ossisuake could have just posted a criticism in metatalk. Is that so hard to do instead of potentially ruining a thread because its not "mefi worthy" or challenges your assumptions and beliefs?posted by skallas at 3:21 PM on May 28, 2004

Just wanted to point out the the bill was not "promptly torpedoed" as suggested in oissubke's comment.

Of course, we all know what those House folks are like. I'm sure that this bill will be promptly torpedoed by the SENATORS. That's what I meant to say!

Quit pretending like I'm out to get you.posted by BlueTrain at 4:17 PM on May 28, 2004

Skallas, BlueTrain wasn't questioning your post or your motivations for posting it. His analysis was concentrated solely on the article you linked to, and he speculated on the possible motivations/agenda of the writer of the article. He did ask, "Why bother writing the article," not "Why bother posting the article." However I do definitely recall having to read his comment twice myself before I got the distinction.posted by orange swan at 7:51 PM on May 28, 2004

skallas is right.

A few who cannot bear to have their beliefs challenged habitually resort to outright whining about content. It's a dishonest way of trying to restrict discussion of ideas they find discomfiting. They constantly duck issues by resorting to the bullshit skallas alludes to, as well as other stupidity (e.g. "the high signal posse"). A free expression of ideas is often anxiety provoking for these folks.posted by fold_and_mutilate at 9:10 PM on May 28, 2004

There's very little difference between those statements on a weblog. Attacking the content in this fashion (and lets make no mistake about bluetrains political leanings) is a pathetic attempt to derail the issue.

"Why write this?" Really now, lets try harder.

I've been here a long time and I see this all the time. Someone's cognitive dissonance kicks in and suddenly they're a mefi cop. Or they play the oissubke card and tell us how worthless the post is, which is really the same difference. To me there is no difference between oissubke's attitude and bluetrains. To be fair, Bluetrain is better at rhetoric and better at hiding his contempt for the content than oissubke.

skallas: There's very little difference between those statements on a weblog.

It's rather presumptuous to suggest that my questioning the author's intent of an article somehow translates to questioning the poster's intent to posting to a weblog. I wouldn't have cared if a notable "conservative" posted the same article, because either way my criticism holds water, in regards to the author. When I posted my first comment, I was making a broader point about authors' intent. If you take personal offense to my questioning of someone you don't even know, so be it.

Skallas, as I understand it, your original point was that people should not attack the validity of a post within a thread. Fine. BlueTrain didn't do that. He made an interesting and valid critical comment specifically about the article you posted. I can understand why it isn't a good idea to complain about the fact of posting something within a thread, as it puts the attention on the poster and detracts from any discussion of the posted material. But to say, "Don't attack the content," is another matter. Telling people they can't critique the material is in effect an attempt to shut down or control the discussion.

I can't speak as to BlueTrain's political leanings, because I am not at all familiar with his posting history, but in this instance his behaviour is a perfectly acceptable part of civil discourse.posted by orange swan at 1:15 PM on May 29, 2004

> "Don't attack the content,"

I'm not saying that at all. The validity of the content is like shooting fish in a barrel as Mefi's mission is open to interpretation. I think bluetrain (and I dont mean to pick on him but hes the latest example of this ive seen) took a low approach to ask all these "why" questions about an article that was perfectly valid, but an article that supposedly didnt asnwer certain questions for bluetrain.

Every piece of writing is limited and will not be able to cover the ground everyone would like it to. Exposing Michael Savage's show for what it is works for me. I could see questioning the validity on some 2 paragraph AP "newsflash" piece but the salon piece was hardly that.

Again, this happens all the time. Almost every thread has a new self-appointed mefi cop who suddenly doesnt like the content so he or she attacks the validity of that content in regards to "why its on metafilter," "why are you posting this," "this doesnt address my concerns," etc which is a front for the lack of an intelligent response and a quick way to derail a thread.posted by skallas at 12:38 AM on May 30, 2004

For what it's worth, my criticism of the post had to do with the fact that it was basically pointing out a silly bill going before the legislature, which is an event that happens on a nearly daily basis. It turned out that this one passed the house, which surprised and disappointed me, but I stand by my original comment.

I was not, however, criticizing it because it wasn't suitably right wing for me. I don't do that. (I may have done it in the past, but I have seen the error of my ways and have stopped.)posted by oissubke at 10:04 PM on May 30, 2004

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